I took Dennis' advice and added an additional #4 wire from the alternator
down to the big 00 aught (spelling?) battery wire going to the transmission.
Spliced it on to that wire with a bugnut. Soldered all connections with a
blow torch & solder and then shrinkwrapped.

At 10:03 PM 3/24/97 -0600, you wrote:
>One larger wire would be stiff and increase the possibility of breakage at the 
>connections.  Especially with all the movement a Vanagon engine has to offer.  
>These wires though are still too small to carry the full output of the 
>alternator without heating up and causing an excessive voltage drop.  I run 
>another #8 wire from the alternator to the fuse box.  Makes a noticeable 
>difference in light brightness. 
>Dennis
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:	vanagon@lenti.med.umn.edu  On Behalf Of Leavitt
>Sent:	Sunday, March 23, 1997 5:01 PM
>To:	Multiple recipients of list
>Subject:	Vanagon Alternator Wires
>
>Hello,
>
>Perhaps someone can tell me why there are two wires going from the
>alternator to the starter (and main battery) instead of one FAT one?  As
>far as the wiring diagram shows, they come from the same place and go to
>the same place.  Is it for redundancy or leftovers from an older stock
>system?  Would a larger gauge wire affect current flow or something like
>that?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Noel Leavitt
>
>
>                               VOLKSWAGEN
>                               _--````--_
>                             / _--````--_ \
>                           / /  \ \  / /  \ \
>       '81 Vanagon Westy  | | \  \ \/ /  / | | '68 Sunbug Autostick
>                          | |\ \  )--(  / /| |                  
>             (named Vana) | | \ \/ /\ \/ / | | (named Rachel)
>                           \ \_\  /  \  /_/ /
>                             \ _``----``_ /
>                                ``----`` 
>                               1937--1997
>
>
___________________________________
Derek Drew                           New York, NY
drew@interport.net